Components and module developer NeoPhotonics has announced a low power consumption 28GBaud externally modulated laser (EML) with an integrated driver IC, which is designed for data centre and client-side optical transceivers at data rates of 100G, 200G and 400G.
With a power consumption of under 3.5W, the CMOS-drivable EML is the first EML to meet the strict power consumption requirement for QSFP28 modules, the company claims.
In a typical 100G client application, a stand-alone driver is needed between the CMOS-based clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit and the EML to provide enough modulator voltage swing to the device. The driver typically consumes around one watt of electrical power and occupies more than a square centimetre of precious board space inside the 100G transceiver.
NeoPhotonics new 28GBaud EML integrates a driver, based on NeoPhotonics low-power linear GaAs amplifier technology, which is integrated at the chip-on-carrier, or CoC, level. The CoC assembly fits into a four-channel transmitter optical sub-assembly, or Quad TOSA, designed for 100G QSFP28 and CFP4 form factors, eliminating the need for a separate driver on the board.
Customers can then link NeoPhotonics’ 28GBaud CMOS-drivable EML directly to the CDR chip on the board, and enjoy the benefits of simplicity, low power consumption, and space savings.
The simple and direct connection to the CDR chip makes NeoPhotonics’ new CMOS-drivable 28GBaud EML an attractive option for 200Gb/s and 400Gb/s applications based on PAM4.
“Our first in the industry CMOS drivable 28GBaud EML simplifies 100G, 200G, and 400G transceiver designs, provides a reliable solution for an EML-based Quad TOSA, and allows a 100G QSFP28 to meet the challenging target power consumption of 3.5W,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics.
The CMOS-drivable EML is currently being designed into NeoPhotonics’ next-generation client side 100G, 200G and 400G transceivers, and will be available to external customers in the second half of 2017.
The new EML, along with NeoPhotonics broad suite of products for line and client side optical modules, will be displayed in booth #3017 at the OFC Conference and Exhibition in Los Angeles, California, March 21–23, 2017.